Field
This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for light field projection, and more particularly to depth map generation.
Background
Structured light systems may transmit and receive codeword patterns onto a scene including one or more objects to generate a depth map. The further away an object is from the projector and receiver of the structured light system, the smaller the disparity between light points on the codeword pattern reflected by the object and original locations of the light points on the projected codeword pattern, as the outgoing projection and incoming projections are more parallel. Conversely, the closer an object is to the projector and receiver, the greater the disparity between the locations of the reflected codeword pattern light points and their original positions in the projected codeword pattern. Given this, structured light systems determine such disparities to generate relative depth information of the scene or object. Thereafter, structured light systems use the relative depth information to generate a depth map, or a three-dimensional representation, of the scene. Depth map extraction is useful for many applications ranging from camera quality enhancement to computer vision.
Generating depth maps can be computationally expensive. In general, as depth map quality (resolution) increases, structured light system power consumption increases. Furthermore, to increase depth map sensing distances (increasing depth), structured light system laser intensity requirements, and thus power requirements, also increase. Structured light system designers balance quality and depth levels with structured light system power requirements. Because computation time remains a major obstacle for commercialization of structured light systems that generate depth maps, and because desired depth values and quality levels for depth maps continue to increase, there exists a need for structured light systems enabling high levels for all of power efficiency, depth map resolution, and depth map distance.